Plans for 30 new homes on ‘wasted space’ in Kenilworth industrial estate

Sam Jackson

Plans to demolish a warehouse and a nearby bungalow in Inchbrook Road to build 30 new ‘live-work’ homes and an office building on a site in Common Lane Industrial Estate have been submitted.

The warehouse at the eastern end of the industrial estate, which is currently leased by Ridley’s Coaches, would be knocked down if the plans go ahead, and the 30 three-bedroom, four-storey buildings would be constructed in two crescent-shaped blocks.

The ground floors of the buildings will be used for work, while the upper three levels will be used for living in.

The three-storey office building would be built on the west side nearer to Common Lane.

The site would be accessed from a new entrance created by the bungalow being demolished on Inchbrook Road, as well as from Common Lane.

The applicant, E-Warehousing Ltd, claimed the site as it is now was not being utilised to its full potential.

In a document submitted to Warwick District Council, the company said: “In its current state it is unattractive and makes little contribution to the town. It is a wasted resource being located in a sustainable area with excellent transport links to Warwick, the university and Leamington.

“It seems that the poor condition of the existing building and severe access constraints make it unviable for continuing use as warehousing.

“The time is right for the redevelopment of this site.”

Nigel Harris, general manager of Ridley’s Coaches, said the company has outgrown the site and is a ‘nightmare’ during school holidays because all the buses are on the site at once. It has not been able to find a new site as of yet.

He said: “We’re too big for this site - we’ve got 31 buses at the moment. We’ve been trying to find a new site for ages.

“We’ve got a move in the pipeline but nothing’s been finalised. We’re worried about the development but we know we’ve got to move.”

No affordable housing will be built on the site, as live-work developments are allowed to be built without providing any.